Friday, August 31, 2012

Sonali Chaudhary and Bhaswar Chatterjee stormed Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar.
Sonali Chaudhary and Bhaswar Chatterjee stormed Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar on 30th August, 2012. The anchor Prasenjit Chatterjee invited the families of the two hot pairs in Bengali serial Agniparikkha.
In the first round both Sonali Chaudhary and Bhaswar Chatterjee did well in Katakuti. Puzzles were shown in the screen. Within a short time Sonali Chaudhary and Bhaswar Chatterjee were asked to identify the objects. Both Sonali Guha and Bhaswar Chatterjee won more than Rs 45000 in the round.
In the second round titled Bong Anubad, both Sonali Chaudhary and Bhaswar Chatterjee did well. They made sure that no English word came out from the mouth of either of the actors. The family members of both Sonali Chaudhary and Bhaswar Chatterjee did well in understanding the gestures and finding the right words.
Comedian Apurbo Roy came in the middle and played the character of a barber. He acted out his part with Sonali Chaudhary, Bhaswar Chatterjee and Prasenjit Chatterjee.
Prasenjit Chatterjee asked Bhaswar Chatterjee how had the Serial Makers of Zee Bangla Channel paired the two artists Prasenjit Chatterjee and Sonali Chaudhary

Sonali Chaudhary Bhaswar Chatterjee in the serial Agniparikkha. Bhaswar Chatterjee once when the artists demonstrated together in respect of a channel, the serial makers picked them up and from that time they were paired together. Prasenjit Chatterjee anchored the program very well.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Rituporno Ghosh, Chitrangada.
Director Rituporno Ghosh had experimented in the film Chitrangada. In Rabindranath Tagore’s Chitrangada it was shown that due to Shiva’s blessings a King of Manipur had only male sons. On one of the occasions he gave birth to a daughter.
The King taught the daughter Chitrangada all the manly skills including the skills relating to warfare. Chitrangada fell in love with Arjun. During that period she tried to be feminine to impress upon the mind of Arjun.
Rituporno Ghosh’s had a different plot altogether. He played the character of the son of Dipankar Dey. He had feminine nature from childhood. He became a dance trainer. Dipankar Dey never liked it.
Jishu Sengupta in the film fell in love with Rituporno Ghosh. To impress upon Rituporno Ghosh at the end of the film he underwent a sex-change operation. But he showed anxiety about able to continue with the dancing after the operation. At the end of the film Jishu Sengupta got married to Raima Sen.
It is interesting to see how the viewers of Kolkata accept the film as it is going to be released in September, 2012. The subject is complicated. Rituporno Ghosh experimented with the subject. Let us hope for the best for the reception of the film.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Alka Yagnik.
Singers Shaan and Alka Yagnik stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program on 27th August, 2012. Kumar Shanu brought both the singers to the show. Jishu Sengupta was amazed to receive them.
Alka Yagnik was one of the judges of the program few weeks back. She used to adjudicate the performances of the contestants along with Kumar Shanu and Joy Sarkar. But for last 2 weeks she was not present.
Kumar Shanu and Joy Sarkar were the other two judges who stayed in the show from long time. At the first part of the show Shaan and the other singers in the contest gave tribute to Kumar Shanu.
They sang all the hit songs of Kumar Shanu that made him popular. Some of the successful songs included “sansonki zarurat hai jaise” in film Ashiqi, “tujhe dekh mera dil dharka” in film Phool Aur Kante, “mera dil bhi kitna paagal hai” in film Saajan, “kuch na kaho” in film 1942 A Love Story, to name a few.
Then the contestants sang their own songs. One of the girl contestant sang the song “solah baraski” from the film Ek Duje Ke Liye which was originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The song was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. Alka Yagnik showed some areas where the artist could have done differently. Joy Sarkar, Kumar Shanu and Shaan appreciated the song.
Jishu Sengupta anchored the program in style.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor on 4th September 2012. He had remained one of the most romantic actors that bollywood had ever produced.
He started his career as a child artist in Raj Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker in 1971. He stormed bollywood films with his romantic performance in the film Bobby in 1973. The film did great business and Rishi Kapoor received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in Bobby. Raj Kapoor as producer and director started a new innings with a new team of Laxmikant Pyarellal as against Shankar Jaikishan after the death of Jaikishan in 1971. LP had huge contribution in the music of the films of Rishi Kapoor for the next ten years.
From that time onwards Rishi Kapoor remained one the most romantic actors in bollywood films. His films Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, Laila Majnu in 1976 and Sargam in 1978 were the greatest musical blockbusters of the 70s. The songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, Jaidev and Madanmohan in these films became everlasting hits. The notable songs of Rafi and Lata in this film included “koel boli”, “parda hai parda”, “dafliwale”, “barbad muhobbat ki dua”, “is reshmi pazeeb”, to name a few. LP received the filmfare award for the best composer for 3 Rishi Kapoor’s films namely Amar Akbar Anthony, Sargam and Karz from 1978 to 1980.
Rishi Kapoor’s extraordinary capability of giving lips in these songs separated him from other actors of that era. His films Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi and Karz created history. He showed his dancing skills in every type of songs of Rafi and Kishore including “hai aga dushman zamana”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “dard –e- dil”, “om shanty om”, “puchona yaar kya hua”, to name a few. RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarellal probably gave their best music to Rishi Kapoor in the 70s and 80s.
In the 80s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Duniya, Sitamgar, Saagar, Chandni, Cooli, Naseeb, did fantastic business. He got the opportunity of acting opposite stalwarts in the industry namely Dilip Kumar in Duniya, Dharmender in Sitamgar, Kamal Hassan in Saagar, to name a few. In fact due to presence of Rishi Kapoor, producers and directors created romantic stories during an era when Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha dominated bollywood with action films. Even in the 90s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Bol Radha Bol, Damini, etc., were appreciated by the audience. He was successful opposite young actresses like Juhi Chawla, Meenakshi Sheshadri, who were one generation younger than him. He had great contribution in the films of eminent directors like Yash Chopra, Manmohan Desai, Subhash Ghai, Ramesh Sippy, David Dhawan, and others.
After the debut of his son Ranbir Kapoor in the film Sawaariya, Rishi Kapoor switched to character roles. In 2009 also Rishi Kapoor did well in films like Dilli 6, Pyar Me Twist, Luck By Chance. He received Star Screen award for the best supporting actor in 2010 for his performance in the film Love Aaj Kal. In 2010 he acted in the films Chintuji and Sadiyaan.
2012 had been an excellent year for Rishi Kapoor. At the beginning of the year he acted in a negative character for the first time in his career in the film Agneepath. The film with hero Hrithik Roshan had done business of more than 125 crores. His other film Housefull 2 with Akshay Kumar had become super hit too. It also had done business of more than 110 crores. He is experimenting with new characters in this part of his career.
The viewers expect him to continue the high standard of acting in the years to come and continue the legacy created by Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Kaberi Bose Shyamali
Ajoy Kar, the classic director of 50s and 60s experimented with classic literature of Ashapurna Debi in the film Shyamali. It was a great risk and there was possibility of the viewers not accepting the film. The reasons were obvious. The literature was read by entire Bengali community of the country.
The same story of Shyamali was played in Star Theatre in Kolkata for 4 years in the mid-50s. In the play Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji played the lead roles while Sarajubala Debi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar. Ajoy Kar picturised Shyamali in 1956 with the team of Uttam Kumar and Kaberi Bose. And Malina Debi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar. Previously it had been seen that any play which was successful with the audience did not do well when picturised in film. Shyamali was an exception. Kalipada Sen composed the music of the film.
In the film Ahindra Choudhury had two daughters, Kaberi Bose being the elder one. Kaberi Bose was deaf and dumb. Her younger sister was proposed to be married to Uttam Kumar, but due to fulfillment of wishes of Kaberi Bose, the priest chanted mantras related to marriage with Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar accepted Kaberi Bose as wife while his friend married the younger sister Bijoli. Ahindra Choudhury wanted Uttam Kumar to marry Bijoli, but Uttam Kumar sacrificed his life for Shyamali saying that mantras were already chanted and marriage was done. But Uttam Kumar’s mother Malina Debi did not accept Kaberi Bose as her daughter-in-law. Uttam Kumar did not have any other option but to leave Kaberi Bose in her mother’s house.
Uttam Kumar and Malina Debi went for pilgrimage to Hrishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath and brought Anubha Gupta who lost her parents and served Uttam Kumar when he became extremely sick whiling to travelling to those places. Malina Debi wanted to marry Uttam Kumar with Anubha Gupta.
But Uttam Kumar tried to convince her that his wife Kaberi Bose was still alive. When Uttam Kumar heard that Kaberi Bose’s mother Aparna Debi died and she slept with the photo of Uttam Kumar, he went to her house and brought her back. Uttam Kumar finally convinced Malina Debi that although Kaberi Bose could not speak, she could react to human actions, had a human mind full of feelings. She required her blessings to start a journey in the new family.
Uttam Kumar was matchless in the film. The compassionate that he showed towards a deaf and dumb girl was not possible for any other actor. The script of the film was outstanding written by Nitai Bhattacharya and Hiren Nag.
The film became super hit due to sheer brilliance of Ajoy Kar. Uttam Kumar, Kaberi Bose, Malina Debi, Anubha Gupta were all sublime in their respective roles. Malina Debi in fact outcast Sarajubala Debi who was a phenomenon in Bengali stage. The film should be restored to remind the viewers about a successful play being remade into film which featured the same level of excellence as depicted in the play.

Neha Dhupia.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Neha Dhupia on 27th August, 2012. Neha Dhupia, the daughter of Commander Pradip Dhupia of Indian Navy, had attracted public attention after winning the Miss India Universe 2002 crown in that year. After beginning her career in the film Qayamat: City Under Threat, she impressed the viewers with challenging role in the film Julie where her glamour was used to perfection.
But she got a notable role in the film Kya Cool Hai Hum in 2005. She acted opposite Ritesh Deshmukh where Tusshar Kapoor and Isha Koppikar were the other pair. Isha Koppikar, the police officer in the film was sent by Anupam Kher to investigate a case relating to a habitual offender. Tusshar Kapoor was suspected to be a murderer and Isha Koppikar was sent to his house to monitor his activities. Ritesh Deshmukh had an affair with Neha Dhupia and married her at the end of the film. The film was serio-comic in nature and Neha Dhupia performed very well in her respective role.
She also got a purposeful role in the film Shootout At Lokhandwala. The film was related to a real-life story where the Bombay police had trapped the underworld group in a house in Bombay and fired at them. Sanjay Dutt gave a memorable performance in the role of Encounter specialist in the film opposite Vivek Oberoi who played the role of a mafia don. Neha Dhupia did her part very well.
She did even better in the film Chup Chup Ke, in the role of the sister of Kareena Kapoor. Shahid Kapoor pretended to be dumb in the film and stayed in their house. Neha Dhupia acted as a mediator between Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor and helped in the marriage between the two. Neha Dhupia knew that Shahid Kapoor could speak but never informed Sunil Shetty or Om Puri or any other member of the house about it. Although the film was related to the serio-comic relationship between Om Puri, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, Neha Dhupia kept her mark in a reserve role and in some of the sequences even acted better than Kareena Kapoor.
She was even impressive in her supporting role in the film Singh is Kinng, where Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar had the lead roles. Singh is Kinng also did good business in India and abroad.
But if her performance in the earlier films like Sheesha and new films like Mithya are compared it will be found that initially the stylish screen presence and bold performance of Neha Dhupia was publicized by the producers.
These days the acting skills of Neha Dhupia are used. She had been bold enough to act in the role of a prostitude in the film De Dana Dan in 2008. The role required comedy timing and she did extremely well.
In 2009, her performance in the film Raat Gayi Baat Gayi bagged her the nomination for Star Screen Award for the best actress in a supporting role. She had two releases in 2010 where her two films, Action Replay and With Love to Obama had different roles. Although her performances in the films were appreciated the films did not do good business. In 2012 she is acting in the film Rush where Imraan Hashmi, Sagarika Ghadke and Aditya Pancholi are playing important characters. Unless she grabs any glamourous role in near future she will not remain in the rat race where the competition between Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha is very keen.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Malaika Arora
The viewers of bollyood films wish happy birthday to Item-queen Malaika Arora on 23rd October, 2012. She had been an important figure in the bollywood industry for the last 10 years.
Her father worked in Merchant Navy. She was selected as one of the MTV VJs when MTV started operation in India. She also did shine in the modeling world.
After that she became number one item dancer in bollywood films. Her dance in the film Dil Se stormed bollywood. She danced in the song “chaiya chaiya” opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film.
The cameos in bollywood films in the item numbers continued. She made a special appearance in Bobby Deol’s film Bicchu. She got a bigger role in the film Kaante. Her item number titled “kaal dhamaal” in the film Kaal again created attention.
She also danced in item numbers in the film Om Shanti Om and Hey Babby in 2005. Then again in the film Welcome, her item number in the song “hoont rasiley” became the most popular song of the entire film. She danced opposite Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar in the film.
She married Arbaaz Khan and has a son named Arhaan. She acted in the film Housefull. In 2010, she stormed bollywood again in Arbaaz Khan’s film Dabaang, in the item song “munni badnaam hui”. The film was the most successful song of the year. The major credit goes to the high class of dancing of Malaika Arora Khan. As far as her dancing capabilities are concerned she had established herself in bollywood.
But she requires to play notable roles in social films to prove her acting capability. Helen, who initially got roles of vamps, later on when acted in films like Khamoshi, had shown the viewers that she had lot of acting talent. Viewers expect Malaika Arora to act in prominent roles in future and expect that 2012 will be a successful year for year.

Usha Utthup
Singer Usha Utthup stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program on 22nd August, 2012. She came, saw and conquered.
She was invited to be the guest judge along with the regular judges Kumar Shanu and Joy Sarkar. Jishu Sengupta anchored the program.
Usha Utthup sang the “kolavari, kolavari” song. She showed her command over all the languages. She had sung songs in different languages hindi, Bengali, English, South Indian, etc.
Jishu Sengupta sang the songs with Usha Utthup on the stage. Kumar Shanu, Sadhna Sargam and Joy Sarkar also welcomed her. Last year Usha Utthup won a number of awards for the song “ankhon se ankhe char karne do” from the film Saat Khoon Maaf.
The performers performed before the group of judges. One of the participants sung Mohammad Rafi’s song “parda hai parda”. The song was a qawalli of the film Amar Akbar Anthony. It was picturized on Rishi Kapoor and the music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. Usha Utthup appreciated the performance of the performer. She said the song was difficult to sing and the participant did well.
Zee Bangla Saregamapa had gained popularity. Last week Hariharan and Sadhna Sargam stormed the show. This time it was the turn of Usha Utthup.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Rachana Banerjee.
Didi No.1 Program on Tuesday, 21st August, 2012. It was a delightful experience of bringing children in the show.
There was a child of 4 and a half years who had said that she liked to do a number of things like singing, dancing. But her mother was strict and the father was even more strict, so she was asked to study at every time.
In the first round, children were given a device and asked to prick the balloons. Each balloons were filled with chocolates. So the job of the children was to prick the balloons and collect the chocolates which fell in the ground after they were pricked.
There was a male child who wore a cap. Rachana Bannerjee asked him to open the cap. He was asked to say abcd. He said abcdxyz. It was hilarious.
In the second round the children were asked to sing a song with the topic with which a child singer had said. Out of the 4 contestants most of the children did well. Their parents also came in the show.
Rachana Banerjee anchored the program in style, with a lot of wit.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Saira Banu April Fool.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Saira Banu on 23rd August, 2012. She used to be called beauty-queen of the 60s. Acting was there in her blood with her mother Nasim Banu doing well in many films in the 40s.
Saira Banu started her career with the film Junglee opposite Shammi Kapoor in 1961. The brilliant music of Shankar Jaikishan given in the film and exotic locations of Jammu and Kashmir flabbergasted the audience in the early 60s. All the songs in the film were super hit including “suku suku”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “Kashmir ki kali hun mai”, to name a few. From that time onwards Saira Banu started getting stylish roles one after the other in bollywood films.
Saira Banu went on to give hit after hit with Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee as well. With Biswajeet her film April Fool released in 1964 became super hit. The songs of SJ again created storm including “april fool banaya”, “aa gale lag jaa”, etc. With Joy Mukherjee Saira Banu’s film Shagird stormed box-office in 1967. All the songs of Rafi and Lata were hits including “dil vil pyar vyar”, “woh hai zara khafa khafa”, “o bare miya diwane”, “duniya mehfil hai”, etc. The music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. Saira Banu exhibited the character of village girl who was sought after by her teacher played by IS Johar, but fell in love with Joy Mukherjee in the film. There were other hit films of Saira Banu like Saaz Aur Awaaz opposite Joy Mukherjee, Aadmi Aur Insaan opposite Dharmender, to name a few.
Saira Banu’s combination with Rajender Kumar was well accepted by the audience. All the three films opposite Jubilee Kumar including Ayee Milan Ki Bela in 1964, Aman in 1967 and Jhuk Gaya Aasman in 1968 became super hit. The songs of all those films composed by SJ again struck box-office. Prominent songs included “o priya kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “tum khamseen ho”, “kahan chal diye”, “surahidar garden”, etc. Saira Banu balanced the powerful performance of Rajender Kumar in those films. In Aman, Saira Banu played the role of a Japanese girl. In Ayee Milan Ki Bela she played the role of an urbanized girl having wealthy background. In Jhuk Gaya Aasman, she played the role of a sophisticated girl coming from middle-class family who was involved with Rajender Kumar who was guide in Darjeeling, but after reincarnation led the life of a wealthy industrialist. May be after Sadhna, Saira Banu was accepted by the viewers the most opposite Rajender Kumar.
After marrying Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu acted in a number of films opposite him including Sagina, Gopi and Bairaag, most of which did well in the box-office. Sagina was directed by Dada Saheb Phalke winning director Tapan Sinha, who made the Bengali version and the hindi version of the same film separately. Saira Banu acted opposite Dilip Kumar in both the films. Her films with Raj Kapoor titled Diwana and Dev Anand titled Par Muhabbat did good business mainly due to hit music of Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of those films including “ai sanam jisne tujhe chaand si surat di hai”, “dil ki awaz khuda khair Karen” still remain the landmarks of Indian film music. Even Saira Banu’s comedy films like Parosan opposite Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood did brilliant business.
From the mid-70s Saira Banu faded away from the industry before acting in films opposite Big B like Zameer and Hera Pheri. There were other films of Saira Banu opposite other stars like Manoj Kumar in the film Purab Aur Paschim, Dharmender in Resham Ki Dori. The viewers expect her to contribute in bollywood films in character roles again.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Haimanti Shukla, Sriradha Banerjee.
Sriradha Banerjee and Haimanti Shukla stormed Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar on 17th August, 2012. Both of them had been invited by Prasenjit Chatterjee for the show Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar.
In fact the competition was between the family of Sriradha Banerjee and Haimanti Shukla. Both the singers had gained fame in Bengal for their brilliant singing.
Haimanti Shukla was the daughter of singer Harihar Shukla. She had sung many classical songs in the last 30 years. Some of her successful songs included “amar bolar kichu chilona”, “thikana na rekhe bhaloi korecho bondhu”, “emon sapna kokhono dekhini age”. Sriradha Banerjee also sang many beautiful songs including “kichu kichu katha”.
In the first round Sriradha Banerjee won the game titled Katakuti by giving more number of answers in the crossword round. The pictures were shown by Prasenjit Chatterjee and questions were framed from those pictures. Haimanti Shukla said it was more difficult to answer the questions than singing a classical song.
In the other round relating to Bengali translation, Sriradha Banerjee did not get any point as she said the English word correct a number of times and points of reducted everytime. Even the time was shortened by 10 seconds each time a Bengali word was pronounced. The fact showed that Bengalies use the English words so randomly that when they are asked to speak in pure Bengali they cannot resist using those English words inbetween Bengali words.
Prasenjit Chatterjee anchored the program in a very good manner.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Gulzar, Madhuri Dixit, Bhupinder Singh, Mitali Singh
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary director and lyricist Gulzar on 18th August, 2012. He had been one of the greatest living legends at this moment. Bollywood is indebted to thoughtful director who had converted filmmaking into work of art.
His film Mausam released in 1975, was based on reflections of mind. Sanjeev Kumar was attached with Sharmila Tagore living in Darjeeling when he came over there as a student. After he went abroad to pursue his post-graduate studies, Sharmila was exploited and her daughter how looked identical like her mother was compelled to join prostitution.
Sanjeev Kumar returned as a foreign-return doctor and took his daughter away from the surroundings and gave her a new life. Bhupinder Singh’s ghazal “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi” composed by Madan Mohan and written by Gulzar remains as the greatest ghazal created in the 70s. The story-telling in the film was appreciated by critics.
Gulzar created a different dimension by experimented with classic literature during the 70s and 80s. His films Aandhi released in 1975, with Suchitra Sen and Sanjeev Kumar and Kinara released in 1978, with Jeetender and Hema Malini can very well be classified as master pieces. He gave very meaningful sequences where songs were recorded. He created a separate fanclub for himself who could understand human relations at the same period when larger than life images were created in main stream cinema of Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha and other angry young men in films like Sholay, Kalicharan, Burning Train, etc.
Gulzar’s films created for children like Parichay, released in 1972 and Kitaab, released in 1978 are still considered masterpieces. He was impressed by the thoughts of Hollywood film Sound of Music and Uttam Kumar’s Joyjoyanti to make a film related to five children who required a good teacher. Jeetender treated them with compassion and brought change in the children. In Kitaab, Uttam Kumar cared for his brother-in-law Master Raju who was a small child and had been send by her mother (Dina Pathak) to get educated in urbanized background. Vidya Sinha was the sister of Master Raju. Uttam Kumar played a huge part in transforming the character of Master Raju in the film.
Gulzar experimented with so many diverse subjects that articles after articles can be devoted to his different themes, including the film Koshish, released in 1972, based on life of deaf and dumb, Lekin, based on folklore of Rajasthan. Koshish had a very strong social message. It showed that deaf and dumb persons could go to dead and dumb schools and learn sign language. Their life can have a new aspiration and direction. All his artists like Suchitra Sen, Jaya Bacchan, Sharmila Tagore, Uttam Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetender portrayed the life of middle-class men who were found in everyday life. He even worked with subjects like terrorism in films like Machis.
His composers, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, RD Burman all had given their best music for the thoughtful director. These days Gulzar concentrates more on writing lyrics. In that field too he had been master of masters. In the recent past Gulzar said that he wanted to devote time to write books. For those reasons he had reduced directing films in the last 10 years. It is a huge loss for thoughtful viewers. He continued to write lyrics of songs in bollywood films in regular intervals and his popular lyrics like “aisi nazar se” in the film Bunty Aur Babli had both class and also rhythm. He received the filmfare award for the best lyricist a number of times.
His admirers expect him to continue to make rich films which make the audience think, feel and reflect on the happiness and sniffles of life.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakhee on 15th August, 2012. She had contributed in bollywood films for more than 30 years. She had contributed both as a leading actress and also as a character actress.
Rakhee came to limelight with her successful film Sharmilee opposite Shashi Kapoor in the early 70s. The songs of the film composed by SD Burman became very successful, including the songs “khilte hai dil yahan”, “megha chaye aadhi raat”, etc. Rakhee played a double role, one being calm and quite named Kanchan and the other who was outspoken named Kamini and created attention.
In the mid-70s Rakhee acted in landmark roles including the one in the film Kabhi Kabhi opposite Big B and Shashi Kapoor. She loved a poet played by Big B, but had to marry Shashi Kapoor. The poetry of Big B created a great impact in the life of Rakhee. The songs of Mukesh and Lata composed by Khayyam in the film including “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” made the viewers spellbound.
Rakhee acted in many landmark films opposite Big B including Shakti Shamanta’s Bengali film Anusandhan, hindi film Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Kala Patthar, Kasme Wade, etc. In the early 80s Rakhee played the role of her lifetime opposite Dilip Kumar in the film Shakti. She played the role of the mother of Big B, who faced the hostility between Dilip Kumar and Big B, one being the protector of law, while the other being the lawbreaker. The scenes where she praised her law-abiding husband her performance had outcast Big B, and viewers said that Rakhee’s performance was as brilliant as Dilip Kumar in Shakti. The film became super hit. She was brilliant in the film Shaan. She played the role of the wife of Sunil Dutt. After the death Sunil Dutt, her small interaction with Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bacchan, who were the brothers of Sunil Dutt in the film, had shown the class of acting of Rakhee. Rakhee by that period of time created her own class in character roles. She was outstanding opposite Suresh Oberoi in the film Shraddhanjali.
In the 90s, Rakhee played many character roles in films like Anil Kapoor’s Ram Lakhan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan’s Karan Arjun, Bobby Deol’s Soldier, to name a few. She had acted in more than 100 films and continues to act in many contemporary films.
Rakhee had also acted in many character roles and challenging roles. Her performance in Aparna Sen’s film Parama requires special mention. She had affair with a middle-aged neighbour. When the truth relating to her extra-marital affair was known to her husband, she lost her value in the family. She showed the helplessness in the respective story. She had performed in both commercial films and parallel cinema and in both forms of films she had kept a mark. She was sublime in the other Bengali film Shubha Maharat.
The viewers expect her to continue the good work in the years to come.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Locket Chatterjee
Bengali actress Locket Chatterjee and actor Neel Mukherjee stormed Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar on 16th August, 2012.
Prasenjit Chatterjee anchored the program for a long period of time. Prasenjit Chatterjee asked the wife of Neel Mukherjee about the manner in which both of them fell in love.
The answer was very funny. She said that when Neel Mukherjee fell in love with her he was a struggler. He has Rs 50 in his pocket. He went to the restaurant with her. There he offered a Dosa. Both Neel and his wife shared the same dosa. Neel finished it from one side while his wife finished it from the other side. Neel laughed at the truth. He said he checked his pocket, whatever money was left to return home was kept aside and the rest of the money was spend on food.
Different questions were asked both to the family of Locket Chatterjee and Neel Mukherjee. Locket Chatterjee’s family won more than Rs 50000 in katakuti round. Neel Mukherjee’s family also did well.
But in the Bengali translation round none of Locket Chatterjee’s family or Neel Mukherjee’s family could get money as no one finished the game in time. Locket Chatterjee acted in many successful Bengali films in the recent past including Le Halwa Le, Fighter, Uro Chithi, etc. Neel Mukherjee had done well in many recent films like Teen Yaari Katha, Abar Byomkesh, etc.
In the middle of the show Apurbo Roy came to do relief acting. He did a great job. Prasenjit Chatterjee anchored the program in style.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Aruna Irani.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani on 18th August, 2012. She had made her debut as a child actress in the film Ganga Jamuna in 1961. She played the role of the smaller version of Azra in the film. She played similar roles in films like Jahanara in 60s.
But her fantastic dancing skills launched her in super hit films like Farz which was released in 1967. She danced opposite Jeetender in the film Farz in Rafi’s song “mast baharon ka mai aashiq”, and that cemented her career in bollywood films. After that she got dance-based roles one after the other in bollywood. But due to comedy pairing with Mehmood in films like Humjoli, she got roles in the range of vamps rather than frontline heroines. She was brilliant opposite Mehmood in the Jeetender starrer Waarish in 1968. The music of RD Burman was brilliant with Rafi’s hit songs like “ek bechara pyar ka maara”.
She amazed the viewers with the role of a gypsey woman in Jeetender’s film Carwan released in 1971. Her dance number in the song “dilbar” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and “chadti jawani” sung by Mohammad Rafi had shaken up bollywood in the early 70s. Her dancing skills were used to perfection by Showman Raj Kapoor in the film Bobby especially in Shailendra Singh’s song “mai shayar to nahin”.
Her successful films in 70s and 80s includes Khel Khel Me, Buddha Mil Gaya, Laila Majnu, Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari, Qurbani, Sargam, Rocky, Love Story, etc. In negative characters in films like Qurbani she had amazed the viewers. From late 80s, she switched to character roles and became one of the leading actresses in that field. She received filmfare award for the best supporting actress for her brilliant performance in Madhuri Dixit’s film Beta.
Her brilliant performance in films like Raja Babu, Ghulam-e-Mustafa, Kartavya, had created a separate place in the hearts of millions of filmlovers. Viewers got astonished to realize how an able dancer in her teenage, had transformed into a brilliant character artist who could do any type of role starting from comedy acting to serious roles to roles of negatives characters.
She should have won many more filmfare awards for epic performances in films like Bobby, Qurbani, Haseena Maan Jayegi. She also played notable role in Priyadarshan’s film Khatta Meetha released in 2010.
She also had received filmfare lifetime achievement awards. She said that she knew nothing. Dilip Kumar brought her to the beautiful world of bollywood. She learned everything and was indebted to the viewers for their love and affection. It was her humility which spoke out and made everyone enchanted. The viewers expect the veteran of more than 300 films to continue the great work that she started 40 years ago.

Manisha Koirala.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Manisha Koirala on 16th August, 2012. She was the leading actress of the 90s and played important roles opposite all the leading actors of bollywood films.
She attracted the attention of the directors with her first performance in Subhash Ghai’s film Saudagar. She was excellent in the film 1942 – A Love Story opposite Anil Kapoor. The film ended up being musical blockbuster with RD Burman’s composition “pyar hua chupkese”, “ek larki ko dekha”, “kuch na kaho” becoming landmark hits. Manisha’s soft romantic performance balanced the all round performance of Anil Kapoor. Besides, the film was based on the life of people in the pre-independence period, so Manisha Koirala balanced her style of acting with the style of dialogue delivery of people during that time.
Manisha Koirala was brilliant in the film Khamoshi opposite Salman Khan. The film was excellent. She played the role of a deaf and dumb girl. The film stood out for the excellent music. The songs of Kavita Krishnamurthy namely “aaj mai upar aasma niche” stormed bollywood. The online chemistry of Manisha Koirala opposite Salman Khan worked a lot.
Manisha Koirala continued her romantic performance in other films like Akele Hum Akele Tum opposite Amir Khan, Yalgaar with Sanjay Dutt, Champion opposite Suny Deol. The songs of all these films did great business. She was comfortable in her roles both in action films and romantic films.
Manisha Koirala also played important roles in experimental films like Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Lajja. Her performance was author-backing performance of an observer of ill-treatment of women in different parts of the world. Her soft performance balanced the cruel attitude of Jackie Shroff in the film. She showed her metal in acting opposite a number of other successful actresses in the same film including Madhuri Dixit, Mahima Choudhury, Rekha and others.
Manisha Koirala was sublime in her performance opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film Dil Se. Mani Ratnam experimented with terrorist activities in the North East in the film Dil Se. Manisha Koirala played the role of the terrorist in the film and died at the end of the film with a suicide operation which killed Shahrukh Khan too.
Critics feel that Manisha Koirala still has lot of acting left in her. She had recently got married, and in respect of bollywood prospects, once actresses get married, their future gets doomed. Her dancing skills and acting skills still qualify her to make a comeback in bollywood films and compete with the leading stars like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and others.
She appeared in Dadagiri Program conducted by Sourav Ganguly in Zee Bangla Channel in 2010, and did a great job there too. Viewers came to know that she could speak well too. Viewers and her fans expect her to make a comeback in bollywood films and do even better.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sadhna Sargam
Singers Sadhna Sargam and Hariharan stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program on 13th August, 2012. At the beginning of the show singers Shobhan Ganguly and other singers gave tribute to the superstars of the past who had died recently. They gave tribute to Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna.
Kumar Shanu and Joydeep Sarkar were the other 2 judges. It was an excellent show. Hariharan said that he did not see the number of musical instruments used in this show if compared with any other show. He was spellbound.
The songs that were sung at the beginning of the show included “jiya ho jiya ho jiya kuch bol do”, “zindagi ek safar hai suhana”, “yahoo chahe koi mujhe jungle kahen”. After hearing the songs Kumar Shanu used to say fatafati.
Sadhna Sargam also appreciated the contestants to a big extent. There was a needy contestant who was a young girl who fed her family from early age by singing. Her relatives came to the show. The anchor Jishu Sengupta appreciated the effort of the contestant.
Hariharan and Sadhna Sargam had visited the program for the last few days. They will also stay during Independence day also.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sunil Shetty on 11th August 2012. Although he started his career as an action star, especially in the film Balwaan, he proved his capability in every type of role very gradually.
His combination with Akshay Kumar had been considered very grand and both the actors had given many colourful hits during their illustrious career. Mohra was a big hit. There Sunil Shetty played the role of the anti-hero who was dictated terms by Naseeruddin Shah, while Akshay Kumar played the role of an honest police-officer. Sunil Shetty fell into the trap of Naseeruddin Shah and went on committing crimes one after the other. He came to know about the actual character of Naseeruddin Shah at the end of the film. Their film Dhadkan opposite Shilpa Shetty did great business. Sunil Shetty received the filmfare award for the best villain for his brilliant performance in the film. The songs in the film including “tum dil ki dhadkan me” were extremely successful and both the stars gave brilliant lips in those songs.
Sunil Shetty started a new chapter with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal in his career in respect of comedy films with the film Hera Pheri. Three of them acted brilliantly in the film Hera Pheri along with Tabu and other actors. The film became so successful that the director Priya Darshan was compelled to make a sequel of the film with the title Phir Hera Pheri. It became super hit too. In this film Bipasha Basu played a very significant role along with the three musketeers. The third sequel of Hera Pheri is under production at the moment.
Sunil Shetty was excellent in anti-establishment roles in films like Main Hoon Na. He was equally impressive opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film. He was brilliant aside Ajay Devgan in the film Diljale.
Sunil Shetty also acted in great patriotic films like Border. JP Dutta’s blockbuster utilized the acting skills of Sunil Shetty, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Akshay Khanna. The songs in the film composed by Anu Malik created history with Sonu Nigam doing a great job with “sandese ate hai”. His other hit films include Hu Tu Tu opposite Tabu, Krishna opposite Karishma Kapoor, etc. Sunil Shetty praised Gulzar for his direction when he worked with him in the film Hu Tu Tu. He acted in other successful films like Shashtra, Gaddar, Vishwasghat, Rakshak, Prithvi, Vinashak, Dhaal, Officer, Refugee, Jungle, Awaara Paagal Deewana, to name a few.
In 2009, Sunil Shetty acted opposite Sameera Reddy in Priyadarshan’s comedy film De Dana Dan. The film did not do equally good business like Hera Pheri or Phir Hera Pheri. In 2010, Sunil Shetty had worked in 3 films, which included Tum Milo Toh Sahi, Red Alert: The War Within and No Problem. Sunil Shetty has a number of new releases in 2011 namely Thank You, Chai Garam, Loot and Hera Pheri 3. In 2012 he is acting in the films Enemmy and Afra Tafri. The viewers wish him the best for the films in future and also for his Production House titled Popcorn Entertainment.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Vaijayantimala, Nazrana.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dancing queen Vaijayantimala on 13th August, 2012. She had ruled bollywood films during the 50s and 60s, during an age when muslim actresses like Nargis, Madhubala, Meena Kumari rocked silver screen. She was the first South Indian actress to create a sensation in bollywood films and paved the way for other South Indian actresses to follow like Hema Malini, Sri Devi, Jaya Prada, Meenakshi Sheshadri, and others. There was no successful actor of the 1950s and 1960s, who did not act opposite Vaijayantimala. The list is very long ranging from Dilip Kumar to Raj Kapoor, Rajender Kumar to Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand to Pradip Kumar, Joy Mukherjee to Uttam Kumar.
Her online chemistry with Tragedy King Dilip Kumar created history in bollywood. Most of their films including Devdas, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Paigham, Ganga Jumna, Leader, Sunghursh ended up being blockbusters. Besides dancing, she was sublime in the role of a tawaif in Bimal Roy’s film Devdas, in the role of village girl in Bimal Roy’s Madhumati.
Vaijayantimala used to do a lot of homework also in respect of her role. When she was awarded best supporting actress award in filmfare for her performance in the film Devdas, she did not receive the award. She said after reading the literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, she found that Chandramukhi, the character she played, was equally a heroine as Parvati. Probably Madhumati, released in 1958, marks the best performance of Vaijayantimala in her entire career. Her innocence reflected in her acting and she made the audience spellbound with the lips given in songs composed by Salil Choudhury including “aa ja re pardesi”, “ghari ghari mera dil dharke”, “daiya re daiya re”, etc. She received the filmfare award for the best actress for the brilliant performance in the film.
On one hand she was brilliant opposite Dilip Kumar, on the other hand she created sensation with Raj Kapoor as well. Their film Nazrana did mediocre business. But Sangam, released in 1964, was probably one of the biggest hits of Raj Kapoor in his entire life. Vaijayantimala’s stylish performance opposite both Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar created a benchmark which could hardly be reached. Sangam still remains one of the most landmark films based on triangular love story shot at exotic locations in London, Paris, and other European countries. Shankar Jaikishan was matchless in Sangam. The acting performance of Vaijayantimala was excellent and she received the filmfare award for the best actress once again. The last scene where Vaijayatimala questioned both Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar about deciding about her life, had become a trend-setter. She justified the fact that she had affair with Rajender Kumar, but from the time she married Raj Kapoor, she fulfilled all the responsibilities of a hindu wife. She had been followed by numerous actresses of the following period in similar roles.
In the 60s, Vaijayantimala was matchless. Her name was enough to make any film hit. The list of her hit films include Nagin opposite Pradeep Kumar, Suraj opposite Rajender Kumar, Amrapali opposite Sunil Dutt, Prince opposite Shammi Kapoor, Choti Si Mulakat opposite Uttam Kumar, Jewel Thief opposite Dev Anand, Pyar Hi Pyar opposite Dharmender, to name a few. In fact her combination with Rajender Kumar and Shankar Jaikishan created sensation in the 60s. All their films ended up being silver jubilees including Aas Ka Panchi, Suraj, Sangam, Zindagi, etc. Her lips in landmark songs like “kaise samjhayun bai na samajh ho”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe meri raazdaar”, “o mere sanam”, “titli uri” had become immortal over a period of time. Besides her standard of classical dancing in films like Katputli or Amrapali had created interest among viewers to appreciate aesthetic dance numbers which became an art in due period of time.
Her films should be restored and preserved.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The viewers are reminded of Mahabharat on Krishna-Janmashtami.
Indians have a separate religious sentiment associated with Lord Krishna, the renowned avatar of God Vishnu. The film Mahabharat made in 1965 is revisited on the eve of Krishna Janmashtami to be celebrated all over India tomorrow on 9th August, 2012.
The film Mahabharat was directed by director Babulal Mistry in 1965. Actor Abhi Bhattacharya played the celebrated role of Lord Krishna in the film. He had the challenging task of chanting the slokas from Bhagwat Geeta, which moulded Arjun in the battle of Kurukshetra and led to victory of the Pandavas. Very significantly Pradeep Kumar played the epic role of Arjun in the film. When Arjuna saw his own relatives in the other side of the battle, he got perplexed and thought whether to fight the battle or not. Lord Krishna explained to him that he must do his Karma and that too of a Kshatriya. In the entire Mahabharata what Lord Krishna had delivered later became learning texts for Hindus all over the world.
Actor Dara Singh played the role of Bhima in the film, while Jeevan played the role of Shakuni. Actress Padmini played the notable role of Draupadi in the film. Composer Chitragupt composed the music of the film, and the songs sung by Rafi in the film were very memorable.
In the late 80s and early 90s, eminent filmmaker BR Chopra made Mahabharata in Doordarshan, and as TV serial had remained extremely successful. Nitish Bharatdwaj played the role of Lord Krishna in the serial. All the episode related to the birth of Lord Krishna flabbergasted the audience. His mama’s role was played by Goga Kapoor. The viewers saw the battle between Lord Krishna and Mama Kanghs was very well depicted by BR Chopra.
Nitish Bharadwaj studied Bhagwat Geeta, very well and his performance in the battlefield of Kurukshetra where he persuaded Arjun to fight the battle had remained matchless. The character of Arjun was played by Feroz Khan. The pandavas were heavily dependent on Lord Krishna in their war against the kauravas. Lord Krishna only asked Bhima to hit Duryodhana on his uru, meaning the thigh, which led to his victory. Lord Krishna asked Arjun to throw his arrow at Karna when his chariot got stuck in mud and he tried to release it. The same Lord Krishna, provided cloth to Draupadi, at a time when Duryodhana asked Dushshashan to take away her clothes.
Lord Krishna is worshipped as God by numerous hindus all across the world, and the effort of filmmakers in reaching the epic related to Lord Krishna had always been considered noble and appreciated. Both the film Mahabharata and the serial Mahabharata should be restored.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Kumar Shanu.
Singer Kumar Shanu donated Rs 1 lakh to a participant who performed in Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program on Monday, 6th August, 2012. Kumar Shanu, Joy Sarkar and Alka Yagnik were the 3 judges who analyzed the performance of the participants from the beginning of the show.
Actor Jishu Sengupta anchored the program. One of the girl participants sung a song. After that when Jishu Sengupta asked her whether anyone had come with her, she said her parents left her at an early age. She was an infant when her parents left her.
Her uncle and aunt reared her up. After she reached her age of 8 years, she stopped studying because she did not have the economic capacity to study. Her aunt and uncle did not marry in their lives and sacrificed their lives for the girl.
When Kumar Shanu heard all this, he said he sacrificed his salary given by Zee Bangla and gave Rs 1 lakh from his account for studies and singing career of the girl. He even told her that whenever the money got over, the girl should contact Kumar Shanu again for the money.
The charitable pursuit of Kumar Shanu astonished the other judges and the anchor Jishu Sengupta. Many people have money. But celebrities like Kumar Shanu also have a big heart.
The elimination rounds started in Zee Bangla Saregamapa program. Participants are providing their best performances to stay in the competition. Alka Yagnik, Kumar Shanu and Joy Sarkar are doing a great job.

Monday, August 6, 2012

kar.
The viewers of bollywood films and listeners of bollywood music wish happy birthday to Suresh Watkar on 7th August, 2012. Singer and music trainer Suresh Watkar is a musical genius and a living legend. In 2011 he received national award for the song in the film Mee sindhutai sapkal in Marathi. In 2012 he sang song in the film Yeh Khulla Aasman.
Born in 1954, he took musical training from Acharya Jialal Vasant from the age of eight years. Acharya Jialal Vasant gave him the task of teaching vocal classical to a pupil when Suresh Watkar was at the age of 13 years. From that time onwards Suresh Watkar had remained one of India’s great learning institutions. Acharya Jialal Vasant in interviews had confessed that he got a torch bearer in the form of Suresh Watkar who could travel a distance.
Suresh Watkar got his Prabhakar degree and joined Arya Vidya Mandir in Mumbai as music teacher. He got music schools both in Mumbai, Suresh Watkar Ajivasan Music Academy, and also music school in New Jersey, New York.
He won the Sur Singar Competition in 1976, where Jaidev was one of the judges. Jaidev gave break to Suresh Watkar in the film Gaman in 1977 with the song “seene me jalan”. Suresh Watkar stormed bollywood with his majestic singing in Raj Kapoor’s film Prem Rog in 1982. The music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellel. He received filmfare nomination for the best singer for splendid performance in the songs “mai hoon prem rogi” and “meri kismet tu”. The film did excellent business and the music became super hit. From that time Suresh Watkar never looked back.
In Sekhar Kapoor’s film Masoom released in 1983, Suresh Watkar was brilliant in the song “huzur is kadar na itrake chaliye” along with ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh. It was composed by RD Burman and was a masterpiece. In the film Sadma in 1983, composer Illayaraja composed two brilliant songs for Suresh Watkar, “ay zindagi gale laga le” and “yeh hawa yeh fiza”.
Suresh Watkar continued his dream run in the film Utsav. Laxmikant Pyarellal composed brilliant songs for Suresh Watkar namely “mere man baja mridang” and “sanjh dhale gagan tale”. Composer Ravindra Jain used Suresh Watkar in Raj Kapoor’s film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, where all the songs of Suresh Watkar were smash hits.
RD Burman used Suresh Watkar very well in the Parinda for landmark songs like “tumse milke” and “pyar ke mod pe”. Suresh Watkar stormed bollywood again with RK film Henna in 1991, where all his songs composed by Ravindra Jain were masterpieces. He showed his classical excellence in Gulzar’s landmark film Lekin, in the song “surmai sham”. It was composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
Suresh Watkar went on singing masterpieces in films like Premgranth, Maachis, Satya, Hu Tu Tu, Omkara, Saat Khoon Maaf. His dream run is still one.
One article is too small to highlight the greatness of the versatile genius Suresh Watkar who had contributed in the musical arena of India for more than 40 years. His admirers all over the world want him to continue the high class of classical singing and his music teaching in the years to come.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Kishore Kumar.
Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday on 4th August, 2012. Kishore Kumar, the master entertainer had been one of the most colourful personalities of bollywood who just became more and more and more popular over the years, now it is almost 24 years after his demise. In respect of his acting performances hardly any actor even dared to imitate him as his improvisations were spontaneous. The part that is followed by numerous singers all over the country is his singing style.
When KK acted as hero in bollywood films he showed his acting capability even in playback singing like the song “c a t cat, cat mane billi” in the film Dilli Ka Thag. He brought out all the sounds of the animals that were named in the song. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gari, in the song “paanch rupaiya bara ana” he imitated SD Burman and in every paragraph he had created a new style which justified the lyrics. In Half Ticket he showed the childishness in the song “chil chil chillake” composed by Salil Choudhury, which became very popular among children. He even sang the ladies version of the song “o sawariya” in the film Half Ticket, when he was teasing Pran during a song sequence. He had acted opposite many versatile actresses like Nutan in Dilli Ka Thug, Madhubala in Jhumru, Vaijayantimala in Aasha, to name a few.
All his innovations created history when he concentrated in playback singing only in the 70s. He made the audience realize that he was singing for Dev Anand, or Rajesh Khanna or Big B, to name a few. His songs “gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, “roop tera mastana” from Aradhana, “kuch to log kahenge” from Amar Prem, “tere mere Milan ki” from Abhimaan have created history over the years. With Big B he had a tremendous combination and had sung in almost all the films of Big B till 1987, including Don, Shaan, Mr. Natwarlal, Do Aur Do Paanch, Amar Akbar Anthony, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Kaalia, Silsila, etc. The list can go on.
In the 80s, it was KK all the way, when he had no competitors. All his songs in Big B’s film Namakhalal, Sharaabi, became record hits. Even in Rishi Kapoor’s Sagar, his song “sagar kinare” had romantic appeal. Composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan could not think about any composition without KK. He provided playback for almost all the leading actors of bollywood in the 80s, namely Amitabh Bacchan, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakravarty, Kamal Hassan, and others. He became the legend of legends and all the actors of the 70s and 80s are indebted for his colourful playback.
After his death Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo and other singers had established themselves by following his style of singing. It has not happened with any other playback singer of bollywood. His styles were very entertaining, romantic and filmic.
Articles after articles can be devoted to the master entertainer and it can be said that he had remained alive all over the years in his numerous films and thousands of songs. His films and songs should be preserved.

Friday, August 3, 2012

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to actor and producer Arbaaz Khan on 4th August, 2012. The viewers wish him the best of success for his upcoming film Dabaang 2. It is going to be released in December,2012. He had worked with the same team of Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha. In 2010 he produced the film Dabaang, which had done business worth 150 crores and remains one of the greatest blockbusters of all times.
His Dabaang had won every type of awards over the last year including Filmfare award, Zee Cine Award, Star Screen Award, IIFA Award, to name a few. Arbaaz Khan also played the role of the brother of Salman Khan in the film. As a producer he had mesmerized the audience with his brilliant film Dabbang. Everything in the film was par excellence, like the casting, the music, the direction, the script, the performance.
Arbaaz Khan gave a great break to actress Sonakshi Sinha, and also gave negative role to Sonu Sood who had justified the role. Sajid Wajid, who had done excellent work with Salman Khan over the years, had got recognition for the first time for their work in Dabaang. Salman Khan was brilliant as usual.
Actor Arbaaz Khan did well in the film Daraar. It was the film where he created attention for the first time. He acted in a negative role opposite Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla and created an impact in the film.
His rough style of acting gave him an image of his own. His brother Sohail Khan till now had generally done positive characters, but as there had been huge similarity with Salman Khan, he still now had not created his own identity.
The film Daraar, directed by Abbas Mastan was released in 1996. The film was inspired by the Hollywood film Sleeping With The Enemy where actress Julia Roberts played a notable role. Arbaaz Khan received the filmfare award for the best villain for his performance in the film Daraar.
Arbaaz Khan married Juhi Chawla, but whenever he saw any person praising his wife, he got angry. He became over-possessive and did beat Juhi Chawla. He asked her whether she could swim. She said no. Then Juhi Chawla sailed in a boat and later on escaped to Shimla. Arbaaz Khan thought that she had drowned.
Rishi Kapoor met her and wanted to marry her. When Juhi Chawla gave a letter to him mentioning that she was married, Johnny Lever lost the letter and send a wrong letter. Rishi Kapoor declined to marry Juhi Chawla. But when the original letter was found, Rishi Kapoor agreed to marry Juhi Chawla.
Arbaaz Khan read in newspaper that Juhi Chawla was alive. He went to Shimla and wrongly send Rishi Kapoor to prison. He killed Juhi Chawla’s friend. Later on when she tried to kill Juhi Chawla, she was saved by Rishi Kapoor.
The songs sung in the film by Kumar Shanu, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Abhijeet, Sadhna Sargam and others became successful. Music was composed by Sandip Chowta and Anu Malik. Songs were written by Hasrat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri and others. The film did good business.
Many of the following roles played by Arbaaz Khan in the future in films like Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya or Hulchul were inspired by the performance in the film Daraar. In all the serious roles he kept his mark. Even in comedy roles in films like Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, Malamaal Weekly he was very impressive. The viewers provide their best wishes for career of Arbaaz Khan both as an actor and a producer.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Kajol.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Kajol on 5th August, 2012. She had dominated bollywood films during the mid-90s.
Besides her combination with Shahrukh Khan had given many everlasting hits like Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Karan Arjun, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc. Most of these films were musical blockbusters as well. The songs in these films like “yeh kaali kaali ankhen”, “jaati hun mai”, “kuch kuch hota hai” became landmark hits over the years.
Besides, the directors and producers of the late 90s experimented with different types of roles with Kajol. She played the role of a villain in the film Gupt opposite Bobby Deol. She went on killing Raj Babbar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and others to maintain his attachment with Bobby Deol. She also received the filmfare award for the best villain for her performance in the film Gupt.
Kajol did well in comedy films like Ishq opposite Ajay Devgan, whom she married later on. She played the role of the friend of Juhi Chawla and got involved into incidents with Ajay Devgan and Juhi Chawla. Kajol did well opposite Sanjay Dutt in the film Dushman. She played a double role in the film. Her performance relating to fear against Ashutosh Rana astonished the viewers. Her sister was killed by Ashutosh Rana, and Kajol took the help of Sanjay Dutt, an Army Officer to learn fighting skills and combat the villain played by Ashutosh Rana.
After the fading away of Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla from the bollywood industry, Kajol got the maximum number of chances in big productions. After marriage with Ajay Devgan, she reduced the number of films. She made a comeback but could not maintain the success rate as she did in the past.
She has the record of winning the filmfare award for best actress five times in her career. Her aunt Nutan also won filmfare awards five times in her career. In 2011, she received the Padmashree award for her excellence in bollywood films from the Government of India.
In 2010, Kajol gave another super hit film My Name is Khan with her successful co-actor Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan’s abnormality in the film was ably balanced by Kajol in the film. She was compassionate towards him and that helped him to recover. The music in the film was also well appreciated by the viewers. She did another social film titled We Are Family with Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor in 2010.
The viewers are looking forward to better performances from Kajol in future as many people feel that she still has lot of acting left in her.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Meena Kumari.
Meena Kumari, born on 1st August, 1932, known as Mahjabeen Bano, stormed into the Indian silver screen in 1952, with the sublime performance in Baiju Bawra. Although the film had been renowned for everlasting composition of Hindustani ragas by Naushad and supreme performance of Mohammad Rafi, with songs like “man tarpata”, “woh duniya ke rakhwale”, etc., Meena Kumari’s performance opposite Bharat Bhushan showed the filmlovers that she had come to conquer Bollywood with her soft style of acting.
In the 50s Meena Kumari’s performance in films like Parineeta, 1953, Footpath, 1954, Yahudi, 1958, etc. were appreciated by critics, but she had created her image of martyr in the film Sharda, 1957, where even after having an affair with Raj Kapoor, in the film she had to sarcrifice her affection to marry Raj Mehra, his father, who was much older than her. In Dil Ek Mandir, 1963, Meena Kumari after having affair with Rajender Kumar in her youth had to marry Raj Kumar, due to social pressure. But from the time she had married Raj Kumar, she fulfilled all the duties of a middle class Hindu woman, and brought her sick husband to the hospital at the mercy of Rajender Kumar. She prayed to God, for the recovery of Raj Kumar. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life to treat her husband and died at the end of the film. The songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi and Lata, had not lost their significance even today.
In 1962, Meena Kumari, performed the role of choti bahu, in Guru Dutt’s Saheb Bibi aur Ghulam, the film showing the zamindari raj (dominance of Feudal lords) existing in the British capital in India, that is Kolkata. She was married to the youngest son in a family of zamindars who used to attend mujras in Jaan bazaar, in Kolkata, where performers from Lucknow, Benaras used to come and exhibit their skills of singing classical songs. She tried to retain her husband Rehman at home, and through her conversation, Guru Dutt, the observer came to know about the history of the family.
Meena Kumar’s performance opposite Pradeep Kumar, used to create a different dimension, as her pardanashin image had matched with royal style of acting of Pradeep Kumar. After the success of Aarti, 1962; Meena Kumari, acted in the blockbusters Bheegi Raat, 1965, and Bahu Begum, 1967, opposite Pradeep Kumar and Ashok Kumar. In Bheegi Raat, she loved Pradeep Kumar, yet due to an accident which made her legs paralysed she could not attend the engagement and worked in the house of Ashok Kumar as governess. When society boycotted Ashok Kumar, she agreed to marry her, but presence of Pradeep Kumar at the end of the film in the song “dil jo na keh saka” compelled Ashok Kumar to sacrifice his affair and go back to London. It was a film where, Rafi, Lata, Roshan and the actors all had provided their best performance possible. Meena Kumar’s other film with Pradeep Kumar titled Chitralekha was also successful.
Meena Kumari had become immortal with her classic performance in the film Pakeeza, 1971, opposite Raj Kumar, which took around 10 years to be completed. It was created on a subject related to women brought up in kotha and exhibited the class of women who could not give the recognition to their next generation as their father’s are not known. The music composed by Ghulam Mohammad, Lata and Rafi’s songs, Kamal Humrohi’s direction (the husband of Meena Kumari) all complemented each other, and the film became historical piece of document.
The greatest hallmark of Meena Kumari lied in her ability to depict the helplessness of Indian women existing specially in the 50s and 60s, when the patriarchal society dominated them and they had no independent income to live separately against the pressure of society. In her performances, beauty, aristrocracy, tragedy, personality all blended into one. Whenever we think about cine-classics like Dil Apna aur Preet Parayi, 1960, or Ghazal, 1965, Meena Kumari’s image automatically comes in our mind. She died in 1972, only at an age of 41. Meena Kumari’s films should be restored in an archive for future generations to learn the art of understanding the characters from the core of the heart the way Meena Kumari had done during the golden age of Indian cinema.

Mohammad Rafi, Talat Mehmood, Manna Dey.
Immortal singer Mohammad Rafi was remembered on his death anniversary on 31st July, 2012. He had died more than 30 years ago, yet his works lived for more than 50 years.
The Channel 9X Jalwa did telecast Mohammad Rafi’s songs all round the day. At different times of the day the songs were telecast bearing different periods of bollywood films. At one period of time, songs of the 1960s were telecast. At another time songs of 1970s were telecast.
Very significantly when songs of 1980s were telecast, most of the films were of 1980 itself, as Rafi died on 31st July, 1980. It was amazing that Rafi had sung so many songs in that year relating to those which were not released during his lifetime but released after his death. That showed the demand of the giant singer in bollywood films. The list was very long. Songs like “pal do pal ka saath hamara” in film Burning Train composed by RD Burman, “kya dekhte ho” in the film Qurbani composed by Kalyanji Anandji, “pucho na yaar kay hua” in the film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai composed by RD Burman, “ashaon ki sawaan me” in the film Aasha composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, “jaanu meri jaan” in the film Shaan, to name a few.
The list of actors for whom Mohammad Rafi had sung songs were huge, including Dilip Kumar, Raj Kumar, Rajender Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet Chatterjee, Pradip Kumar, Bharat Bhushan, Shashi Kapoor, Dharmender, Jeetender, Rishi Kapoor, and on. Rafi had remained immortal in the minds of numerous musiclovers all across the world. Even singers of the new generation including Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan are big admirers of Mohammad Rafi. His songs and films should be preserved.

Dr. Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, Coventry,UK

Received Doctorate Degree in Philosophy of law from National Law University, Jodhpur after submitting PhD Thesis in Law in National Law University, Jodhpur on the topic “Treatment of Cartels in India and USA”.